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Her son, who works with her and was in his car at the time, ran out to help and carried panicked children from the wreckage in fear of the buses catching fire and blowing up.

Both said the single white decker, carrying pupils to nearby Tanfield Comprehensive School, swerved into the path of a yellow double decker, carrying pupils to St Bede’s in Lanchester.

They were carrying pupils aged between 11 and 18.

One 12-year-old boy suffered serious facial injuries and was airlifted to hospital, along with the 54-year-old driver of one of the buses, who also suffered serious injuries.

Investigation: Police said there have been no fatalities but a number of injuries as they investigate the crash

Injuries: A 12-year-old boy suffered facial injuries and one of the drivers is being treated for 'serious injuries'

Emergency: The boy and driver were flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle this morning after the crash

Michael Davison, 38, spoke of how he fought through smoke to reach the screaming and bleeding youngsters.

He said: 'There was no way they could avoid a head-on collision. There was a massive bang, I’ve never heard anything like it and after a couple of seconds of silence all you could hear was screaming.

‘I ran over to the buses. There was smoke pouring from the engines, coming from batteries of the vehicles and it was choking everyone.

‘I was really frightened they were going to catch fire and I knew I had to get as many people off as I could.’

He said a woman also came running to help him. He added: ‘When I first jumped on the white bus there were kids piled up on top of each other.

‘The force of the accident had sent them sprawling into heaps. Some had snapped fingers, others had open wounds that you could see fat coming through. It was awful to see.

‘The worst injured was a little lad at the front, he was the one airlifted to hospital. He had a head injury, his face was covered in blood and he was screaming.’

Rescue: After prolonged efforts to free the driver from the bus, he and a boy were carried to the air ambulance

Treatment: The boy was said to be in a stable condition when he was airlifted to Royal Victoria Infirmary

He said some of the children were able to get themselves off the bus but others needed carrying.

The driver of the white bus which apparently swerved, a 27-year-old from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was said to have emerged from the smash, asking: ‘What happened?’.

He was later admitted to hospital with minor injuries. Mr Davison said he spoke to the driver.

He said: ‘He got himself off and appeared to be confused, he was asking what had happened, he didn’t seem to know how the crash happened.’

Mr Davison added: ‘On the upper deck of the yellow bus the seats were ripped up because as soon as they collided the kids grabbed them and hung on for dear life but the force was so great that the seats were pulled up.

‘The glass lying around was red with blood and some of the kids looked like they had serious injuries.’

St Bede’s pupil Ryan Robson, 14, from nearby Stanley, was on the yellow bus when the crash happened.

He said: ‘We were on the road heading to New Kyo and the bus slowed down really fast and everyone was thrown forward.

The scene: A fleet of 13 ambulances and four fire engines were called to the scene in Stanley, County Durham

Shock: Passengers aged between 11 and 18 were treated for shock at a nearby public house

‘One of my friends was sat in the middle seat at the back and she was flung forward. Another friend bust her nose and she was covered in blood.

‘She hit her face on one of the metal bars and it was gushing. I just thought, “I’ve got to try and get everyone off the bus.” I was shouting, “Get off the bus”, and I was trying to get people down the stairs.’

He said his friend was standing at the front of the bus and the driver was trapped. He added: ‘I think he had been knocked out.

‘I told my friend to force the door open and there was a lot of screaming. I wasn’t thinking about being scared, I just thought, “I’ve got to do something”.’

Police said the 12-year-old, who attended Tanfield Comprehensive, was in a stable condition when he was handed over to hospital staff.

Ambulances took 16 children to the University Hospital of North Durham and 11 children to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, all with minor injuries. Other children were treated for shock at the scene

Superintendent Colin Williamson said: ‘As the investigation continues into the collision continues, the roads in the area remain closed and we would like to thank everyone for their patience.’

Both schools issued a joint statement expressing ‘shock’ at the incident and said support was a